Fauna of Africa
s at the carcass of an impala that they had stolen from a cheetah at Masai Mara National Park, Kenya]]The fauna of Africa, in its broader sense, is all the animals living in Africa and its surrounding seas and islands. The more characteristic African fauna is found in the Afrotropical ecoregion.R.W. Crosskey, G.B. White, The Afrotropical Region. A recommended term in zoogeography, Journal of Natural History, Vol.11, 5 (1977) Lying almost entirely within the tropics, and equally to north and south of the equator creates favourable conditions for rich wildlife. Africa is home to many of the world's most famous fauna in human culture such as Lions‚ Hyenas‚ Cheetahs‚ Giraffes‚ Zebras‚ Elephants among many others. Origins of African fauna Whereas the earliest traces of life in fossil record of Africa date back to the earliest times,F. Westall et al., Implications of a 3.472-3.333Gyr-old subaerial microbial mat from the Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa for the UV environmental conditions on the early Earth, Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society B, Vol.361, No.1474 (2006) the formation of African fauna as we know it today, began with the splitting up of the Gondwana supercontinent in the mid-Mesozoic era. After that, four to six faunal assemblages, the so-called African Faunal Strata (AFSs) can be distinguished. The isolation of Africa was broken intermittently by discontinuous "filter routes" that linked it to some other Gondwanan continents (Madagascar, South America, and perhaps India), but mainly to Laurasia. Interchanges with Gondwana were rare and mainly "out-of-Africa" dispersals, whereas interchanges with Laurasia were numerous and bidirectional, although mainly from Laurasia to Africa. Despite these connections, isolation resulted in remarkable absences, poor diversity, and emergence of endemic taxa in Africa.E. Gheerbrant, J.-C. Rage, Paleobiogeography of Africa: How distinct from Gondwana and Laurasia?. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, Vol 241, 9 Nov. 2006 Madagascar separated from continental Africa during the break-up of Gondwanaland early in the Cretaceous, but was probably connected to the mainland again in the Eocene.R. McCall, Implications of recent geological investigations of the Mozambique Channel for the mammalian colonization of Madagascar, Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B (1997) 264 The first Neogene faunal interchange took place in the Middle Miocene (the introduction of Myocricetodontinae, Democricetodontinae, and Dendromurinae).A. J. Winkler, Neogene paleobiogeography and East African paleoenvironments: contributions from the Tugen Hills rodents and lagomorphs. Journal of Human Evolution, Vol 42, January 2002 A major terrestrial faunal exchange between North Africa and Europe began at about 6.1 Ma, some 0.4 Myr before the beginning of the Messinian salinity crisisM. Benammi et al., Magnetostratigraphy and paleontology of Aït Kandoula basin (High Atlas, Morocco) and the African-European late Miocene terrestrial fauna exchanges. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol 145, Dec 1996(for example introduction of Murinae, immigrants from southern Asia)A. J. Winkler, Neogene paleobiogeography and East African paleoenvironments: contributions from the Tugen Hills rodents and lagomorphs. Journal of Human Evolution, Vol 42, January 2002 During the early Tertiary, Africa was covered by a vast evergreen forest inhabited by an endemic forest fauna with many types common to southern Asia. In the Pliocene the climate became dry and most of the forest was destroyed, the forest animals taking refuge in the remaining forest islands. At the same time a broad land-bridge connected Africa with Asia and there was a great invasion of animals of the steppe fauna into Africa. At the beginning of the Pleistocene a moist period set in and much of the forest was renewed while the grassland fauna was divided and isolated, as the forest fauna had previously been. The present forest fauna is therefore of double origin, partly descended of the endemic fauna and partly from steppe forms that adapted themselves to forest life, while the present savanna fauna is similarly explained. The isolation in past times has resulted in the presence of closely related subspecies in widely separated regionsE. Lönnberg, The Development and Distribution of the African Fauna in Connection with and Depending upon Climatic Changes. Arkiv for Zoologi, Band 21 A. No.4.1929. pp. 1-33.J. Fjeldsaå and J.C. Lovett, Geographical patterns of old and young species in African forest biota: the significance of specific montane areas as evolutionary centres. Biodiversity and Conservation, Vol 6, No 3 March 1997 Africa, where humans originated, shows much less evidence of loss in the Pleistocene megafaunal extinction, perhaps because co-evolution of large animals alongside early humans provided enough time for them to develop effective defenses.Owen-Smith,N. Pleistocene extinctions; the pivotal role of megaherbivores. Paleobiology; July 1987; v. 13; no. 3; p. 351-362 Its situation in the tropics spared it also from Pleistocene glaciations and the climate has not changed much.P. Brinck. The Relations between the South African Fauna and the Terrestrial and Limnic Animal Life of the Southern Cold Temperate Zone.Proc. Royal Soc. of London. Series B, Vol. 152, No. 949 (1960) Invertebrates ]] There are large gaps in human knowledge about African invertebrates. East Africa has a rich coral faunaM.H. Schleyer&L.Celliers. Modelling reef zonation in the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, South Africa. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science,Vol. 63, May 2005 with about 400 known species. More than 400 species of Echinoderms and 500 species of Bryozoa live there too,Richmond, M. D., 2001. The marine biodiversity of the western Indian Ocean and its biogeography. How much do we know? In: Marine Science Development in Eastern Africa. Proc. of the 20th Anniversary Conference on Marine Science in Tanzania. Institute of Marine Sciences/WIOMSA, Zanzibar as well as one Cubozoan species (Carybdea alata). Of Nematodes, the Onchocerca volvulus, Necator americanus, Wuchereria bancrofti and Dracunculus medinensis are human parasites. Some of important plant-parasitic nematodes of crops include Meloidogyne, Pratylenchus, Hirschmanniella, Radopholus, Scutellonema and Helicotylenchus.M. Luc et al. (Esd.), Plant Parasitic Nematodes in Subtropical and Tropical Agriculture. CABI Publishing, 2005Fourie, H et al. Plant-parasitic nematodes in field crops in South Africa. 6. Soybean. Nematology, vol. 3, 5 (2001)J. Bridge, Nematodes of Bananas and Plantains in Africa, ISHS Acta Horticulturae 540Marais, M., Swart, A. Plant nematodes in South Africa. 6. Tzaneen area, Limpopo Province, African Plant Protection, 2003 (Vol. 9) (No. 2) 99-107 Of the few Onychophorans, Peripatopsis and Opisthopatus live in Africa.R.C. Brusca and G.J. Brusca, Invertebrates, Sinauer Associates; 2 ed.(2003) Greatest diversity of freshwater mollusks is found in East African lakes. Of marine snails, less diversity is present in Atlantic coast, more in tropical Western Indian Ocean region (over 3000 species of gastropods with 81 endemic species).S.M. Goodman et al. (eds.) The Natural History of Madagascar, University Of Chicago Press, 2007Kilburn, R.N. 2009. Genus Kermia (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Conoidea: Conidae: Raphitominae) in South African waters, with observations on the identities of related extralimital species. African Invertebrates 50 (2): 217-236. Cowry shells have been used as a money by native Africans. The land snail fauna is especially rich in Afromontane regions, and there are some endemic families in Africa (e.g. Achatinidae, Chlamydephoridae) but other tropical families are common too (Charopidae, Streptaxidae, Cyclophoridae, Subulinidae, Rhytididae). 156 tardigrade species have been found,A. Jörgensen, Graphical Presentation from the African Tardigrade FaunaUsing GIS with the Description of Isohypsibius malawiensis sp. n. (Eutardigrada: Hypsibiidae) from Lake Malawi, Zoologischer Anzeiger Vol 240,2001Meyer, H.A. & Hinton, J.G. 2009. The Tardigrada of southern Africa, with the description of Minibiotus harrylewisi, a new species from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (Eutardigrada: Macrobiotidae). African Invertebrates 50 (2): 255-268. and about 8000 species of arachnids. The African millipede Archispirostreptus gigas is one of the largest in the world. 20 genera of freshwater crabs are present.Cumberlidge, N. et al. 2008. A revision of the higher taxonomy of the Afrotropical freshwater crabs (Decapoda: Brachyura) with a discussion of their biogeography. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 93: 399–413. The soil animal communities tropical Africa are poorly known. A few ecological studies have been undertaken on macrofauna, mainly in West Africa.Okwakol, M.J.N. & Sekamatte, M.B. 2007. Soil macrofauna research in ecosystems in Uganda. African Journal of Ecology 45 Suppl. 2. Earthworms are being extensively studied in West and South Africa.Plisko, J.D. 2006. The Oligochaeta type material housed at the Natal Museum, South Africa. African Invertebrates 47: 57-61. Plisko, J.D. 2009. Pre-testical spermathecal pores and unusual setal arrangement in the South African endemic microchaetid earthworms of presumed Gondwanan origin (Oligochaeta: Microchaetidae). African Invertebrates 50 (2): 237-254. Insects mound in Botswana]] Approximately 100,000 species of insects have been described from sub-Saharan Africa, but there are very few overviews of the fauna as a wholeS.E. Miller, & L.M. Rogo, Challenges and opportunities in understanding and utilisation of African insect diversity. Cimbebasia 17: 197-218, 2001 (it has been estimated that the African insects make up about 10-20% of the global insect species richness,K.J. Gaston and E. Hudson, Regional patterns of diversity and estimates of global insect species richness. Biodiversity and Conservation 3,493-500 (1994) and about 15% of new species descriptions come from AfrotropicsGaston, K. J. 1991. The magnitude of global insect species richness. Conserv. Biol. 5:283-296.). The only endemic African insect order is Mantophasmatodea. About 875 African species of dragonflies have been recorded. The migratory locust and desert locust have been serious threats to African economies and human welfare. Africa has the biggest number of termite genera of all continents,Eggleton, P., P. H. Williams, and K. J. Gaston. 1994. Explaining global termite diversity: productivity or history? Biodiversity and Conservation, 3: 318-330 and over 1,000 termite species. Of Diptera, the number of described African species is about 17,000.Crosskey,R.W.(Ed.) Catalogue of the Diptera of the Afrotropical Region. London, British Museum, 1980 Natalimyzidae, a new family of acalyptrate flies has been recently described from South Africa.Barraclough, D. A. & McAlpine, D. K. Natalimyzidae, a new African family of acalyptrate flies (Diptera: Schizophora: Sciomyzoidea). African Invertebrates 47: 117-134. Anopheles gambiae, Aedes aegypti and Tsetse fly are important vectors of diseases. 1600 species of beesEardley, C.D., Diversity and endemism of southern African bees. Plant Protection News 18: 1-2. (1989) and 2000 species of antsThe Ants of Africa - 2005 among other Hymenopterans are known from Africa. There live also 3,607 species of butterflies, being the best known group of insects.Ackery, P. R. et al., (eds.) 1995. Carcasson’s African Butterflies. An Annotated Catalogue of the Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea of the Afrotropical Region. CSIRO, Canberra The caterpillars of mopani moth are part of the South African cuisine. Among the numerous species of African beetles are the famous sacred scarab, the centaurus beetle, the manticora tiger beetle and enormous Goliath beetles. Butterflies from Tanzania]] Hotspots for butterflies include the Congolian forests and the Guinean forest-savanna mosaic. Some butterflies (Hamanumida daedalus, Precis, Eurema) are grassland or savannah specialists. Many of these have very large populations and a vast range. South Africa has one of the highest proportions of Lycaenid butterflies (48%) for any region in the world with many species restricted in range. North Africa is in the Palaearctic region and has a different species assemblage. Genera which are species rich in Africa include Charaxes, Acraea, Colotis and Papilio, most notably Papilio antimachus and Papilio zalmoxis. The subfamily Lipteninae is endemic to the Afrotropics and includes species rich genera such as Ornipholidotos, Liptenara, Pentila, Baliochila, Hypophytala, Teriomima, Deloneura and Mimacraea. The Miletinae are mostly African, notably Lachnocnema. Other endemic lycaenids include the genus Alaena. Endemic Nymphalidae include Euphaedra, Bebearia, Heteropsis, Precis, Pseudacraea, Bicyclus and Euxanthe. Endemic Pieridae include Pseudopontia paradoxa and Mylothris. Endemic skippers include Sarangesa''and ''Kedestes. The highest species diversity is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, home to 2,040 species 181 of which are endemic. Fish , a living member of a long-thought-extinct group of fish]] Africa is the richest continent of freshwater fish, with about 3000 species.N. Myers, The Rich Diversity of Biodiversity Issues. (In:Biodiversity II, ed. E.O. Wilson et al., National Academy Press, 1997)Lévêque ''et al. (2008). Global diversity of fish (Pisces) in freshwater. Hydrobiologia, 595, 545–567 The East African Great Lakes (Victoria, Malawi, and Tanganyika) are the center of biodiversity of many fish, especially cichlids (they harbor more than two-thirds of the estimated 2000 species in the family).I.P. Farias et al., Total Evidence: Molecules, Morphology, and the Phylogenetics of Cichlid Fishe Journal of Experimental Zoology (Mol Dev Evol) 288:76–92 (2000) The West African coastal rivers region covers only a fraction of West Africa, but harbours 322 of West African’s fish species, with 247 restricted to this area and 129 restricted even to smaller ranges. The central rivers fauna comprises 194 fish species, with 119 endemics and only 33 restricted to small areas.T. Moritz and K. E. Linsenmair, West African fish diversity – distribution patterns and possible conclusions for conservation strategies (in African Biodiversity: Molecules, Organisms, Ecosystems, Springer, 2001) The marine diversity is greatest near the Indian Ocean shore with about 2000 species.Richmond, M.D. (ed.) 1997. A Guide to the Seashores of Eastern Africa and the Western Indian Ocean Islands. Sida/Department for Research Cooperation, SAREC Characteristic to African fauna are Perciformes (Lates, tilapias, Dichistiidae, Anabantidae, Mudskippers, Parachanna, Acentrogobius, Croilia, Glossogobius, Hemichromis, Nanochromis, Oligolepis, Oreochromis, Redigobius, Sarotherodon, Stenogobius and others), Gonorhynchiformes (Kneriidae, Phractolaemidae), some lungfishes (Protopterus), many Characiformes (Distichodontidae, Hepsetidae, Citharinidae, Alestiidae), Osteoglossiformes (African knifefish, Gymnarchidae, Mormyridae, Pantodontidae), Siluriformes (Amphiliidae, Anchariidae, Ariidae, Austroglanididae, Clariidae, Claroteidae, Malapteruridae, Mochokidae, Schilbeidae), Osmeriformes (Galaxiidae), Cyprinodontiformes (Aplocheilidae, Poeciliidae) and Cypriniformes (Labeobarbus, Pseudobarbus, Tanakia and others). Amphibians Endemic to Africa are the families Arthroleptidae, Astylosternidae, Heleophrynidae, Hemisotidae, Hyperoliidae, Petropedetidae, Mantellidae. Also widespread are Bufonidae (Bufo, Churamiti, Capensibufo, Mertensophryne, Nectophryne, Nectophrynoides, Schismaderma, Stephopaedes, Werneria, Wolterstorffina), Microhylidae (Breviceps, Callulina, Probreviceps, Cophylinae, Dyscophus, Melanobatrachinae, Scaphiophryninae), Rhacophoridae (Chiromantis), Ranidae (Afrana, Amietia, Amnirana, Aubria, Conraua, Hildebrandtia, Lanzarana, Ptychadena, Strongylopus, Tomopterna) and Pipidae (Hymenochirus, Pseudhymenochirus, Xenopus). The 2002–2004 ‘Global Amphibian Assessment’ by IUCN, Conservation International and NatureServe revealed that for only about 50% of the Afrotropical amphibians, there is least concern about their conservation status; approximately 130 species are endangered, about one-fourth of which are at a critical stage. Almost all of the amphibians of Madagascar (238 speciesAndreone F, Carpenter AI, Cox N, du Preez L, Freeman K, et al. (2008) The Challenge of Conserving Amphibian Megadiversity in Madagascar. PLoS Biol 6(5): e118) are endemic to that region. Amphibians.org|website=www.globalamphibians.org|language=en-US|access-date=2017-09-21}} The West African goliath frog is the largest frog species in the world. Reptiles , a venomous snake]] The center of chameleon diversity is Madagascar. Snakes found in Africa include atractaspidids, elapids (cobras, Aspidelaps, Boulengerina, Dendroaspis, Elapsoidea, Hemachatus, Homoroselaps and Paranaja), viperines, (Atheris, Bitis, Cerastes, Causus, Echis, Macrovipera, Montatheris, Proatheris, Vipera), colubrids (Dendrolycus, Dispholidus, Gonionotophis, Grayia, Hormonotus, Lamprophis, Psammophis, Leioheterodon, Madagascarophis, Poecilopholis, Dasypeltis etc.), the pythonids (Python), typhlopids (Typhlops) and leptotyphlopids (Leptotyphlops, Rhinoleptus). Of the lizards, many species of geckos (day geckos, Afroedura, Afrogecko, Colopus, Pachydactylus, Hemidactylus, Narudasia, Paroedura, Pristurus, Quedenfeldtia, Rhoptropus, Tropiocolotes, Uroplatus), Cordylidae, as well as Lacertidae (Nucras, Lacerta, Mesalina, Acanthodactylus, Pedioplanis), Agamas, skinks, plated lizards and some monitor lizards are common. There are 12 genera and 58 species of African amphisbaenians (e.g. Chirindia, Zygaspis, Monopeltis, Dalophia).C. Gans, D. Kraklau, Studies on Amphisbaenians (Reptilia) 8. Two Genera of Small Species from East Africa 8. Two Genera of Small Species from East AfricaAm. Mus. Novitates 2944, 1989 Several genera of tortoises (Kinixys, Pelusios, Psammobates, Geochelone, Homopus, Chersina), turtles (Pelomedusidae, Cyclanorbis, Cycloderma, Erymnochelys), and 5-7 species of crocodiles (the Nile crocodile, the West African crocodile, two species of slender-snouted crocodile, and 1-3 species of dwarf crocodile) are also present. Birds is native to West-African rainforests.]] There live (temporarily or permanently) more than 2600 bird species in Africa (about 1500 of them passerines). Some 114 of them are threatened species.De Klerk, H. M, Gaps in the protected area network for threatened Afrotropical birds. Biological Conservation 117 (2004) 529–537 The Afrotropic has various endemic bird families, including ostriches (Struthionidae), mesites, sunbirds, secretary bird (Sagittariidae), guineafowl (Numididae), and mousebirds (Coliidae). Also, several families of passerines are limited to the Afrotropics. These include rock-jumpers (Chaetopidae), bushshrikes (Malaconotidae), wattle-eyes, (Platysteiridae) and rockfowl (Picathartidae). Other common birds include parrots (lovebirds, Poicephalus, Psittacus), various cranes (crowned cranes, blue crane, wattled crane), storks (marabous, Abdim's stork, saddle-billed stork), herons (slaty egret, black heron, goliath heron), shoebill, bustards (kori bustard, Neotis, Eupodotis, Lissotis), sandgrouse (Pterocles), Coraciiformes (bee-eaters, hornbills, Ceratogymna), phasianids (francolins, Congo peafowl, blue quail, harlequin quail, stone partridge, Madagascar partridge). The woodpeckers and allies include honeyguides, African barbets, African piculet, ground woodpecker, Dendropicos and Campethera. The birds of prey include the buzzards, harriers, Old World vultures, bateleur, Circaetus, Melierax and others. Trogons are represented by one genus (Apaloderma). African penguin is the only penguin species. Madagascar was once home to the now extinct elephant birds. Africa is home to numerous songbirds (pipits, orioles, antpeckers, brubrus, cisticolas, negrofinches, olivebacks, pytilias, green-backed twinspot, crimson-wings, seedcrackers, bluebills, firefinches, waxbills, amandavas, quailfinches, munias, weavers, tit-hylia, Amadina, Anthoscopus, Mirafra, Hypargos, Eremomela, Euschistospiza, Erythrocercus, Malimbus, Pitta, Uraeginthus, pied crow, white-necked raven, thick-billed raven, Cape crow and others). The red-billed quelea is the most abundant bird species in the world. Of the 589 species of birds (excluding seabirds) that breed in the Palaearctic (temperate Europe and Asia), 40% spend the winter elsewhere. Of those species that leave for the winter, 98% travel south to Africa.M. Begon et al., Ecology: From Individuals to Ecosystems, Wiley-Blackwell (2006) pp.169 See also: Endemic birds of western and central Africa, Endemic birds of southern Africa. Mammals s]] More than 1100 mammal species live in Africa.A. Anton, M. Anton. Evolving Eden: An Illustrated Guide to the Evolution of the African Large Mammal Fauna, Columbia Univ. Press,2007 Africa has three endemic orders of mammals, the Tubulidentata (aardvarks), Afrosoricida (tenrecs and golden moles), and Macroscelidea (elephant shrews). The current research of mammalian phylogeny has proposed an Afrotheria clade (including the exclusively African orders).Tabuce, R, et al., Early Tertiary mammals from North Africa reinforce the molecular Afrotheria clade. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Vol.274, No.1614 (2007) The East-African plains are well known for their diversity of large mammals. African Soricomorpha include the Myosoricinae and Crocidurinae subfamilies. Hedgehogs include desert hedgehogs, Atelerix and others. The rodents are represented by African bush squirrels, African ground squirrels, African striped squirrels, gerbils, cane rats, acacia rats, Nesomyidae, springhare, mole rats, dassie rats, striped grass mice, sun squirrels, thicket rats, Old World porcupines, target rats, maned rats, Deomyinae, Aethomys, Arvicanthis, Colomys, Dasymys, Dephomys, Epixerus, Grammomys, Graphiurus, Hybomys, Hylomyscus, Malacomys, Mastomys, Mus, Mylomys, Myomyscus, Oenomys, Otomys, Parotomys, Pelomys, Praomys, Rhabdomys, Stenocephalemys and many others. African rabbits and hares include riverine rabbit, Bunyoro rabbit, Cape hare, scrub hare, Ethiopian highland hare, African savanna hare, Abyssinian hare and several species of Pronolagus. Among the marine mammals there are several species of dolphins, 2 species of sirenians and seals (e.g. Cape fur seals). Of the carnivorans there are 60 species, including the conspicuous hyenas, lions, leopards, cheetahs, serval, as well as the less prominent bat-eared fox, striped polecat, African striped weasel, caracal, honey badger, speckle-throated otter, several mongooses, jackals and civets. The family Eupleridae is restricted to Madagascar. The African list of ungulates is longer than in any other continent. The largest number of modern bovids is found in Africa (African buffalo, duikers, impala, rhebok, Reduncinae, oryx, dik-dik, klipspringer, oribi, gerenuk, true gazelles, hartebeest, wildebeest, dibatag, eland, Tragelaphus, Hippotragus, Neotragus, Raphicerus, Damaliscus). Other even-toed ungulates include giraffes, hippopotamuses, warthogs, giant forest hogs, red river hogs and bushpigs. Odd-toed ungulates are represented by three species of zebras, African wild ass, black and white rhinoceros. The biggest African mammal is the African bush elephant, the second largest being its smaller counterpart, the African forest elephant. Four species of pangolins can be found in Africa.J. Dorst and P. Dandelot, A Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of Africa, Collins, London 1983 African fauna contains 64 species of primates.Colin A. et al., What hope for African primate diversity? African Journal of Ecology 44 (2), 116–133.(2006) Four species of great apes (hominidae) are endemic to Africa: both species of gorilla (Western gorilla, Gorilla gorilla, and eastern gorilla, Gorilla beringei) and both species of chimpanzee (common chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes, and bonobo, Pan paniscus). Humans and their ancestors originated in Africa. Other primates include colobuses, baboons, geladas, vervet monkeys, guenons, macaques, mandrills, crested mangabeys, white-eyelid mangabeys, kipunji, Allen's swamp monkeys, Patas monkeys and talapoins. Lemurs and aye-aye are characteristic of Madagascar. See also Lists of mammals of Africa. See also * Afrykarium * Fauna of Asia * Fauna of Australia * Fauna Europaea References External links *[https://web.archive.org/web/20080820143549/http://www.africaninvertebrates.org.za/ African Invertebrates] *[https://www.africanfauna.com/ African Fauna] *[http://www.poissons-afrique.ird.fr/faunafri/ FAUNA(French)FRI - A tool to assess and monitor the distribution of fresh and brackish waters fish species in Africa] *[http://vmppeao-proto.mpl.ird.fr/index.php PPEAO - An information system on fish communities and artisanal fisheries in estuarine and lagoon ecosystems in West Africa (in French)] Category:Fauna of Africa Category:Afrotropic ecozone